The all-electric Nissan Leaf has smashed its own sales record with a 33% increase in European sales in 2014 over the previous year, taking more than a quarter of the electric car market with 14,658 sales.

Last year was the fourth year in a row that the EV topped the zero-emission sales charts in Europe.

Moreover, the all-electric Leaf clocked up 4,051 sales in the UK, more than doubling the volume sold in 2013 (1,812), securing 55% of the pure EV market and outselling its nearest competitor by more than 2:1.

Guillaume Cartier, Nissan Europe senior vice president of sales and marketing, said: “We can now see the impact that word of mouth is having on our sales, with 95% of our customers happy to recommend their car to a friend and 50% saying they would never go back to diesel or petrol.

“This kind of powerful advocacy, combined with an increasing awareness of the massive running cost savings electric car drivers experience, is why our Nissan Leaf sales continue to grow.”